Taking your children for holidays during school is illegal in the UK

[Madame]

There are lots of families that can't go on vacation during school breaks. Just because vacationing during breaks works or worked for your family doesn't mean it works for everyone.

Our big family vacation was travelling to Florida in my Dad's rig to deliver a load to Miami. We never hit WDW or anything else for that matter. We were too poor for real vacations so we didn't take one.

I'm not talking about military personnel whose vacation time can be unpredictable & short. These are students from middle class families being pulled from school because Punta Cana or Orlando is cheaper in January. It has become absurd how little we value an education when so many others in our world go without one.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Really, where's the problem, if the student completes the work and turns it in before their vacation or upon return? Is it too much trouble for the teacher? What is the main objective...education or attendance?

 

[Madame]

Really, where's the problem, if the student completes the work and turns it in before their vacation or upon return? Is it too much trouble for the teacher? What is the main objective...education or attendance?

I'm talking high school aged students. If you really think that 1-2 weeks of semestered bio, physics, calc etc. can just be self-taught & that a couple of worksheets takes the place of actual in-class learning, practice & disscussion, then I don't think we'll ever agree.

 

[MSLRAC]

Our big family vacation was travelling to Florida in my Dad's rig to deliver a load to Miami. We never hit WDW or anything else for that matter. We were too poor for real vacations so we didn't take one.

I'm not talking about military personnel whose vacation time can be unpredictable & short. These are students from middle class families being pulled from school because Punta Cana or Orlando is cheaper in January. It has become absurd how little we value an education when so many others in our world go without one.

I'm a teacher and I take my kids out of school 3 days (we already have 2 off) in October for our family vacation. Not because it's cheaper but because it's the only time that my DH can take off and go with us and he's a general sales manager at power sports dealership. So I'm sure there are way more families that deal with things like that than military families and I'm willing to bet that it's not all about cost. I value education or I would not have changed careers at 36 years old to teach. But everything is not black and white for every family and I have no problem with students traveling during the school year and I'm glad we're in a district that allows and excuses those absences.

I'm talking high school aged students. If you really think that 1-2 weeks of semestered bio, physics, calc etc. can just be self-taught & that a couple of worksheets takes the place of actual in-class learning, practice & disscussion, then I don't think we'll ever agree.

And what about kids that get the flu and are sick for a week and miss school? Even in high school, kids can catch up on missed work and class time. I don't think that the reason they missed should matter.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I'm talking high school aged students. If you really think that 1-2 weeks of semestered bio, physics, calc etc. can just be self-taught & that a couple of worksheets takes the place of actual in-class learning, practice & disscussion, then I don't think we'll ever agree.

Honestly, it depends on the class, student and their parents. Two weeks would be hard, but one is doable for many students.

I'm stunned, over the amount of "busy work", even for high school students.

 

[sam_gordon]

And what about kids that get the flu and are sick for a week and miss school? Even in high school, kids can catch up on missed work and class time. I don't think that the reason they missed should matter.

I don't think you can compare a sickness requiring a week away from school and a vacation.

 

[Ember]

I admit, I was just surprised that it would be so regulated as to involve fines and jail time. I wonder what happens if you just agree to pay the fine? £60/day (about $94 USD) per child, per parent is pretty hefty, though.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I don't think you can compare a sickness requiring a week away from school and a vacation.

But, the make up work is still the same.

 

[MSLRAC]

I don't think you can compare a sickness requiring a week away from school and a vacation.

A week out of school is a week out of school. The makeup work is still the same.

 

[tvguy]

Really, where's the problem, if the student completes the work and turns it in before their vacation or upon return? Is it too much trouble for the teacher? What is the main objective...education or attendance?

I believe the concern opponents have is they miss the in class instruction which cannot be made up.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I u ders

I believe the concern opponents have is they miss the in class instruction which cannot be made up.

I understand, but let's face it, not all class instruction is equal.

 

[bsblady01]

A week out of school is a week out of school. The makeup work is still the same.

we do not allow makup work for vacations

 

[MSLRAC]

we do not allow makup work for vacations

You've said that, but many other schools do and the fact is, the work is the same whether the student missed for vacation or illness.

 

[bsblady01]

I am sorry but when I have a parent tell me they do it because they don't like heat and lines, for me that is not a good reason to pull your child out of school for a week. if it was a military family I would have no issue with that child missing school for vacation, our school does allow that for military family's

 

[MSLRAC]

I am sorry but when I have a parent tell me they do it because they don't like heat and lines, for me that is not a good reason to pull your child out of school for a week. if it was a military family I would have no issue with that child missing school for vacation, our school does allow that for military family's

It doesn't matter why they do it and they don't need the teachers approval to do it. It's a parents prerogative to take their kid out of school for a week...provided they are willing to accept any consequences that come along with that absence.

 

[cjbcam]

That's not that unusual. Prices for vacations also increase in the US around the school calendar. Look at Disney... going in the summer months? More $$ Christmas break? More $$ The airlines do the same thing.

Again, IMO at least, cost is a cop out. No one says you have to take a family vacation every year. So skip a year and save that money and use it the following year.

But why? Why should I skip a year when I could take two vacations for the price of the one. That IMO is silly.
My kids have never had more than two hours of make up work on the 1-2 week holidays we have taken. They always get good grades.
If schools can spend this afternoon doing a bully free walk and another for cancer and another for track and field and another for a play etc. I feel quite within my rights as a parent to choose when we take our vacations.

 

[debster812]

and I call bull on people that say they can't take vacation when their kids are off. you have eight weeks during the summer, two weeks at Christmas, a week at easter and four days for thanksgiving. you have 11 weeks to pick from to take your kids on vacation.

Call Bull all you like, and explain to me how we could have gotten around this scenario:

DH works in a Union Shop. They get "X" number of weeks of vacation, depending on how long they've been with the company. They choose ALL their vacations for the upcoming year in November. The guys with the most seniority go first. There are some who have 6 weeks vacation, and take them all back to back. There are only 3 drivers allowed on vacation per week.

DH started at this company 17 years ago. DS is 18 and has just graduated high school. It is only in the past 4 years that DH has had enough seniority to choose a vacation week during a school vacation, Christmas week, or high summer. And by the way, here in MA, we do NOT have a week at Easter. We do have a week in February. and a week in April, but again, those are prime time, and snapped up quickly.

Your circumstances are not necessarily the same as everyone else's, so before calling Bull, and painting with that broad brush, stop and think.

When he was younger, we pulled DS from school for vacations with absolutely no qualms whatsoever, but we were also prepared to take whatever consequences came our way.

 

[bethy]

Call Bull all you like, and explain to me how we could have gotten around this scenario:

DH works in a Union Shop. They get "X" number of weeks of vacation, depending on how long they've been with the company. They choose ALL their vacations for the upcoming year in November. The guys with the most seniority go first. There are some who have 6 weeks vacation, and take them all back to back. There are only 3 drivers allowed on vacation per week.

DH started at this company 17 years ago. DS is 18 and has just graduated high school. It is only in the past 4 years that DH has had enough seniority to choose a vacation week during a school vacation, Christmas week, or high summer. And by the way, here in MA, we do NOT have a week at Easter. We do have a week in February. and a week in April, but again, those are prime time, and snapped up quickly.

Your circumstances are not necessarily the same as everyone else's, so before calling Bull, and painting with that broad brush, stop and think.

When he was younger, we pulled DS from school for vacations with absolutely no qualms whatsoever, but we were also prepared to take whatever consequences came our way.

Silly, the way around this would have been to choose a difference career and or employer. I mean, he knew this when he signed on and if he didn't then too bad, so sad.

(Note: snark alert)

 

[Planogirl]

Our school district has strict rules about vacation during school days. Their primary rule is don't do it and they are very upfront about it. They make it clear that vacation days are not going to be excused.

I think that they are a bit over the top but I do respect that they make it very clear where they stand. When we moved into the area we could have easily picked another school district but chose to just deal with this. We did fine but I feel for those people who have trouble going on a trip during school vacations and holidays.

 

[Colleen27]

Ridiculous, IMO, but not surprising. That's just kind of how these things evolve - taking statistics related to attendance that include absenteeism for all reasons (including chronic abuse/neglect/instability) and applying them as predictive of outcomes for middle class kids going on family vacations. The situations are entirely different, but because low-income Joe with the alcoholic single parent fails after missing a lot of school obviously we need to make sure middle-class Jane doesn't miss a week to go to Hawaii with her loving parents.

I'm glad our state and school district aren't so inflexible. My oldest is the only one who attends a public school and even in high school vacations can be pre-approved and work made up. There's a hard limit of 7 days per trimester, but we never get remotely close to that - the kids usually miss 2-3 days around a long weekend or minor break so we can take a proper vacation during my husband's slow season. The other two are in private schools that are supremely flexible and very achievement oriented - if a child can keep up, the school will forgive any number of absences (and we have quite a few athletes who compete on a national level who chose the schools for just that reason - in public school they'd be failed for the amount of time they miss for competitions).